I'm Just a Kid!
by rockmysocks456
Summary: Charlie gets hurt when he tries to save Mr. Gardner's life. Well, he is just a kid...
1. Run That By Me Again

"I'm just a stupid kid!" Charlie exclaimed, his voice breaking.

"Stop the fucking presses!" Mr. Gardner yelled drunkenly, "Run that by me again, you're a what?"

Charlie took a breath, "Just a kid."

Mr. Gardner wheeled around waving his gun in the air.

"Awhh, Fuck." Charlie muttered bowing his head.

Then as he looked up he saw the tip of the gun drawing closer to Mr. Gardner's head...

"NO!" Charlie yelled and not thinking at all, ran at Mr. Gardner. Confused, Mr. Gardner turned towards him and watched in shock as Charlie hit the railing, flipped over and fell. _Jesus Christ! _SLAP! Mr. Gardner leaned over the railing just in time to see Charlie smack his head into the diving board and begin to descend into the water...

"CHARLIE!" Mr. Gardner dove into the pool the second he saw Charlie was not emerging. _Fucking kid!_ Mr. Gardner felt the chlorine sting his eyes as he clutched the boy's shoulders and dragged him to the surface. Gasping for air, he climbed out of the pool and laid the kid on the tile. He pressed his ear to Charlie's chest and immediately began pushing his hands into the kids chest, forcing oxygen into his lungs. There was a gasp, and Charlie's eyes fluttered open. He spit out some water and then went into a rough coughing fit. Taking in deep, steady breaths he looked up, head pounding, at Mr. Gardner.

"Why the hell did you do that, Chuck?"

Charlie blinked rapidly in bewilderment, trying to recall why he had. "You were gonna kill yourself." He said hoarsely.

Mr. Gardner laughed harshly, "Can't. Too many responsibilities." Charlie smirked and felt the back of his head gingerly.

"Anyways, you okay Chuck?"

Charlie shrugged, "I think so."

Mr. Gardner smiled, "Fuck, it's cold. C'mon."

He got to his feet and watched as Charlie staggered to his.

"Fuck, kid!" Mr. Gardner caught Charlie as he pitched foward.

"My bad, blacked out for a minute there..." Mr. Gardner helped the kid regain use of his legs and they entered the house.

"Jesus kid, you nearly gave me a heart attack when you didn't come back up!" Mr. Gardner said as he picked some random clothes out of his drawer.

"Well I'm sorry for being unconscious." Bartlett said with a smirk.

Mr. Gardner smirked back as he threw the kid a dry shirt.

"So, is this what you do when you get mad? Get drunk and start shooting at your pool?" Charlie asked pulling the shirt over his head.

"Don't get smart with me kid. How's staying mad at your dad forever working out for you, huh?"

Charlie shrugged. "Some days are better than others."

Mr. Gardner rolled his eyes, "No shit."

Charlies smirked.

"C'mere, kid. Let me take a look at that head of yours."

Mr. Gardner gently touched the back of his head and Charlie winced. Mr. Gardner hadn't noticed and he prodded it slightly harder and Charlie's knees gave way.

"Shit!" Mr. Gardner caught him and shook him lightly, "Jesus Christ, Chuck! I'm taking you to the hospital."

Charlie shook his head, "Not until after Susan's play."

Mr. Gardner opened his mouth to retort. But closed it again thinking. "You know what, fine. But right after I'm taking you to see a fucking doctor, okay?"

Charlie shrugged, "Okay."


	2. Stitches

After Susan's play Mr. Gardner kept his promise.

"Susan, think you can catch a ride home with a girlfriend or something? Gotta- er-"

"Have some 'Man-time' with me, you know?" Charlie said, finishing his sentence.

"Er- I guess..." Susan shrugged strode off.

"You did great!"

"Fabulous job out there!"

"Love you!"

"Love you!"

The two males got into Mr. Gardner's car again and as they began driving Mr. Gardner asked,

"Damn, kid. If I wanted any guy to go out with my daughter, I never thought it'd be the bad-mouthed, clumsy, drug-dealer."

"...Thanks, I think."

Mr. Gardner drummed on the steering wheel and then slammed on the breaks, "Fuck, kid!"

"What I do?"

"Fuck I'm stupid. 'Oh yeah, we can wait to go to the hospital.' You're bleeding on my seats kid."

"Oh, sorry. My bad..."

"No, I mean what the fuck, you could be fucking bleeding out in the school theatre and I'm just like sitting there... watching the play."

"It's my fault Mr. Gardner, not yours, and I think you should start driving again, that bitch in the Jeep behind us keeps honking."

Mr. Gardner started up the car but not before flipping off Jeep-bitch out the window.

* * *

By the time they got to the hospital, Charlie couldn't exactly stand up on his own.

"Jesus, you're killing me kid."

They reached the front desk and Mr. Gardner said, "This kid smacked his head on a divingboard, and then nearly drowned, I think you should fix it."

"I think so too." The nurse smirked.

"Me too!" Charlie said dazedly.

"Okay, c'mon kid, this way..."

* * *

An hour later Charlie was sitting in a chair having his hand slapped away from his new stitches that he'd been trying to fiddle with.

"Why the fuck do kids like to play with things just because they're there?" Mr. Gardner asked him.

"I dunno, it's fun."

"So why did you care whether or not I killed myself, Chuck? I was waving a gun around, I could've killed you."

"Yeah, but I think Susan would be pretty pissed if I let her dad shoot himself while I just sat there."

"And you think she'd prefer her boyfriend nearly drown in the pool?"

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Mr. Gardner. She likes you alot more than you seem to think."

"You could say that."

"I _did_ say that. That's the thing, is that I said that. Because I could. So I did..."

"Okay, kid. You know what?"

"What?"

"Shut the fuck up."


End file.
